GERILLE, Kenya, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Somali militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack in northeast Kenya that killed at least six people and left 13 missing, officials said.
Gunmen opened fire and threw an explosive device at a police camp in Gerille, near the Somali border, late Wednesday. Those killed included four police officers, an immigration officer and a civilian, Voice of America reported Thursday.
The BBC said the al-Qaida-linked Islamist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility. Al-Shabaab said it had killed seven officers and officials and seized several others as prisoners.
Kenya has sent troops into Somalia to target al-Shabab, which Kenya blames for a series of cross-border kidnappings.
Wednesday's attack came as Human Rights Watch said Kenyan security forces were "beating and arbitrarily detaining citizens and Somali refugees" in the Kenya-Somalia border area, the BBC said.
The British broadcaster said Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, a Kenyan army spokesman, told HRW he did not know of abuses but said the military would investigate the claims.
HRW reported the worst abuses took place at the Dadaab refugee camp, home to more than 400,000 Somali refugees. The human rights group said police responded to attacks against security forces by beating refugees, making arbitrary arrests and raping women.
